Forget to Cherish Her
by flipomatic
Summary: "You don't know?" Moca's voice rose incredulously. She paused as if waiting for a response, but Yukina had nothing to say. "You really don't know?" She frowned, taking half a step towards Yukina. Yukina leaned away from the taller teen. "I, what?" She hadn't predicted this reaction coming at all. "Wow, no wonder Lisa-san's so upset." Moca's blue eyes pierced right through Yukina.


Author Note: This fic is heavily inspired by Miki-chan's thread on twitter about the neo aspect event. The thread can be found here, add dots between twitter and com. https( :/) twitter com /oceanterminal_/status/1005686173862277120

* * *

It started, as most conversations do, with small talk. Yukina leaned against the frame of her bed, with her computer in her lap and her cell phone pressed to her ear. She'd been working on adjusting a composition when her phone rang, deciding to take a break when she saw who was calling.

Yukina always had time to hear Lisa's voice. Perhaps talking with the other teen could even inspire her composing. It was going pretty slowly, after all.

"What did you do after practice today?" Lisa's voice sounded so close through the phone, as if she was sitting right next to Yukina. The slight electric tint to her voice ruined the thought though.

"I went home." Yukina replied, "I've been working on a song since then." She tapped her free hand against the keyboard, even though Lisa wouldn't be able to see the motion through the phone.

Lisa's voice raised in pitch. "Oooh the new song!" She sounded so excited about it.

"Yes." Yukina nodded, another wasted motion. "How about you?" She asked politely.

"Oh, me?" Lisa responded. "I spent some time practicing with Hina." Lisa kept talking, but Yukina's mind skidded to a halt. Lisa practiced with Hina? What on earth was she thinking playing with another band?

"Yukina, are you still there?" Lisa sounded concerned now, her voice snapping Yukina out of her thoughts.

"I'm still here." Yukina gritted her teeth. "How could you work with another band like that? Aren't you serious about Roselia?"

Lisa's voice sounded softer than before. "This doesn't have anything to do with Roselia, we were playing as friends." What did that matter, Yukina frowned, time spent not focusing on the band was time wasted.

"If you're not giving Roselia 100 percent of your playing, then I don't know what you're doing." The band couldn't afford to have members who played with more than one band, it just wasn't sustainable, Yukina thought.

A moment of silence passed.

"I…" Lisa wavered, sniffing once. "I have to go now."

"Very well." Yukina wasn't done with this topic, but if Lisa needed to leave then so be it. "Take care." She was halfway through her farewell when the line cut out. The phone displayed the total time of the call, only about five minutes. That was quite short compared to how long they usually talked.

How odd, Yukina thought as she watched Lisa's bedroom light flick off through the window.

Was it something she said?

* * *

Just a mere 18 hours after the phone call, Lisa exited school grounds as quickly as possible. She was supposed to walk with Yukina to band practice, but couldn't bring herself to see the other girls face.

She kept turning the conversation over in her head, wondering what she should've said differently to prevent this. Wondering why Yukina said what she did and why it was so upsetting. Yukina said mean things sometimes, it was part of their relationship. Lisa usually forgave her, but she was having trouble letting this one go.

Lisa talked to Moca about it during lunch, but her underclassman didn't have any good advice to offer. Her troubles stemmed from a girl who said too little, instead of one who said too much.

Hence the scurrying. Once Lisa made it off of school grounds, she slowed her pace a bit. She still intended to go to band practice, but couldn't walk there with Yukina. She hadn't yet figured out how to get though practice that day either.

Her thoughts continued to swirl as she walked, drawing tears to the corner of her eyes a couple of times. She forcibly wiped them away; now was not the time to cry.

Once she arrived at the studio, she was unsurprised to find Sayo already there. She already had her guitar out and was tuning the strings.

"Good afternoon Sayo!" Lisa raised her voice cheerily, hoping it Sayo wouldn't notice the red that was surely present around her eyes. When Sayo's gaze snapped from the guitar to Lisa, eyebrows furrowing, Lisa knew that was a pipe dream.

"Minato-san's not with you?" The simple question, stated so matter of factly, brought all the emotions Lisa had been fighting with right to the surface. Sayo's eyes widened as the first tears slid down Lisa's cheeks. "What happened?" She asked calmly, placing her guitar on a table.

"It's… I…" Lisa struggled to find the words, wiping her face with the back of one hand. "It's nothing I just have something in my… my eyes." She sniffled once, wishing she could laugh instead of cry at how bad that lie was. She placed her guitar case on the floor to better wipe her face.

"Would you, umm," Sayo looked away, a slight pink dusting her cheeks. "Would you like a hug?" She opened her arms, still not looking towards Lisa, but that was all she needed.

Lisa closed the few steps between them, wrapping her arms around the taller teen and pressing her face against Sayo's shoulder. Sayo closed the embrace slowly, gently rubbing Lisa's back in a soothing motion. They stood like that for a minute or so while Lisa cried out what she hoped would be the last tears for the day.

"I'm sorry." Lisa wiped her eyes again and took a step back, forcing herself out of Sayo's grasp. "I'm really sorry. I'm not usually like this." She forced a chuckle.

"It's okay, everyone has those days." Sayo still looked concerned, her mouth pressed in a firm line. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I…" Lisa hesitated, her head still fuzzy from crying. But, she had just cried on Sayo's shoulder; she should tell her. "It's Yukina."

"Minato-san?" Sayo grabbed a couple chairs, dragging them over to where Lisa stood. She placed them facing each other and sat down. "Did something happen to her?" She asked as she gestured for Lisa to sit as well.

Lisa sank onto the chair, her shoulders dropping as the tension drained out of her. "No, she's fine. It's just." She took a deep breath, fighting away the return of tears. "Last night, we were talking, and she said some really mean things."

"Such as?" Sayo prompted her to continue.

"She told me that I'm not serious about Roselia, and that I'm not giving it my all." Lisa lifted one hand to her chest. "And I just, I work so hard for the band, for Yukina, and it really hurts." Another treacherous tear dripped down her face. "It hurts so much, I don't know what to do."

Sayo's hands had clenched into fists as she listened to Lisa talk. "What do you want to do?" She asked.

"What?" That was a surprising question, coming from Sayo.

"Minato-san has been incredibly cruel to you, and this is not the first time if I recall correctly. What do you want to do about it?" Sayo spoke lowly and clearly, emphasizing the question.

"I want…" Lisa thought about it for a moment. What did she really want? "I want to forgive her. I want things to go back to normal." She looked down where her hand was still held to her chest. "I don't want to hurt anymore." She sighed. "I guess I should apologize for practicing with Hina."

"No, you shouldn't." Sayo shook her head, crossing her arms. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"But, Yukina only got mad at me because of it." Lisa felt confused by Sayo's statement.

"That's her problem isn't it." Sayo said firmly. "If she's going to treat you this way, you should only be concerned with yourself."

"I suppose you're right." Lisa mused, fighting the urge to mirror Sayo's posture. "It's just, it's Yukina, you know?"

"Not really." Sayo admitted, "But even Yukina has to earn your forgiveness."

That line echoed through Lisa's mind. Even Yukina needed to earn her forgiveness. Even Yukina.

"You're right." Lisa raised her head, finally drawing her hand away from her chest. "You are absolutely right."

The corner of Sayo's lips tugged up for the first time since Lisa arrived. "Good." She nodded. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to cancel practice for today; you're in no shape to rehearse." Sayo stood from her chair, muttering under her breath. "I'm not sure I want to see Minato-san right now anyway…"

Lisa stood as well, giving her face one last wipe. "Sayo," She said softly, bringing the guitarists gaze back to her. "Thank you, for listening."

"You're welcome." The lifted lip became a full smile, something rarely spotted on Sayo's face. Sayo turned away to get her phone, preparing to send out the practice cancelling text.

Lisa, once again left to her thoughts, moved the chairs back to their normal positions. She grabbed her bass from where she left it, checking her phone as the expected text from Sayo buzzed.

"See you at practice tomorrow then!" Lisa called back to Sayo, who had picked her guitar back up and resumed tuning it. The blue haired girl gave a small wave and Lisa took her leave.

Her chest still hurt, and her eyes still felt like they would flood with tears at the slightest provocation, but Lisa felt better. She at least could leave the studio with her head held high.

* * *

Yukina stood in the hallway outside of her classroom, waiting for Lisa to return. When her friend left abruptly at the end of class, Yukina assumed she needed to use the bathroom and decided to wait for her at the classroom.

Half an hour had passed since then. Most of the other students already left, with just a few stragglers wandering the halls.

Yukina's phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her out of her thoughts. She pulled the device out quickly, hoping it would be Lisa. She let out a small sigh when she saw the text from Sayo.

Once she opened the text, that sigh became a frown. Sayo wanted to cancel band practice? That was ridiculous.

"We can't cancel practice." Yukina texted back.

"Not today." The text from Sayo came back quickly. "You need some time to think."

What was that supposed to mean? There wasn't anything to think about; Roselia needed to rehearse if they wanted to improve. "What do you mean?" Yukina typed back. This time, no response came. "Sayo?" She sent another message, but still received no response.

How odd all of this was, Yukina thought as she gathered her belongings. First Lisa disappeared, and then Sayo cancelled band practice. She dialed Lisa's number into the phone, calling to check on her.

The phone rang and rang, a hollow sound to Yukina's ear. After a few rings, it went to voicemail. "This is Lisa! Please leave a message, thanks!"

When the tone sounded, Yukina still wasn't quite sure what she was going to say. "Lisa, this is Yukina. Where did you go? Also, what's going on with Sayo today? Talk to you later, I guess." She hung up, giving her phone a long look before stowing it in her pocket.

As Yukina walked towards the front of the school, she decided to still go to the studio. Even if the band wasn't going to practice, she still needed to rehearse. There also was a chance that Lisa had gone there ahead of her. Maybe her phone had died or was on mute. She wouldn't have deliberately ignored Yukina's call.

That thought in mind, Yukina stepped out onto school grounds. She moved towards the exit, a familiar face catching her eye on the way. Aoba Moca sat in the grass near the path, picking individual stalks and holding them up to her face.

Didn't Lisa work with Moca at her part time job? Yukina was almost certain that was the case. Maybe she would know where Lisa went. Yukina had only talked to her a handful of times, but it was still worth a shot.

"Excuse me, Aoba-san." Yukina approached the younger girl, who looked up when her name was called.

Moca's eyes narrowed, head tilting to one side. "Wellllll, it's Minato-sannn" She didn't bother to stand up, an ever present smirk pasted on her face.

"Have you seen Lisa? I haven't been able to find her since class ended." Yukina asked, despite knowing that this particular student might not give her a straight answer.

Moca's tone dropped, the lilting tone vanishing. "No, I haven't." She threw aside a blade of grass.

"It's not like her to leave without me." Yukina mused, bringing one hand up to her chin. "We usually walk to practice together.

"I'm not surprised." Moca rose from the grass, brushing off her skirt. "After yesterday." Her voice was low, her words short.

"Yesterday?" Nothing much had happened yesterday. There was school, the band practiced, and Yukina and Lisa spoke on the phone in the evening. Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as Yukina could tell, though the phone call had been shorter than usual.

"You don't know?" Moca's voice rose incredulously. She paused as if waiting for a response, but Yukina had nothing to say. "You really don't know?" She frowned, taking half a step towards Yukina.

Yukina leaned away from the taller teen. "I, what?" She hadn't predicted this reaction coming at all.

"Wow, no wonder Lisa-san's so upset." Moca's blue eyes pierced right through Yukina, her face far too close for comfort. "You really are the worst." She emphasized the last word.

Before Yukina could respond, another voice joined the conversation. "Moca, what's going on?" While they talked, Mitake Ran approached from the school. She stopped next to Moca, looking between the two uneasily.

As if a switch had been flicked, the smirk returned to Moca's face. She stepped away from Yukina, turning to her friend. "Raaaan I've been waiting soooo long to see your beauuutiful face." Her tone was completely returned to normal.

"Oy," Ran flushed slightly at the compliment. "C'mon let's go, Himari is waiting for us."

"Okaaaay." Moca, without another word to Yukina, followed Ran towards the school exit. Ran looked back once, but that was the end of the talk.

Yukina was even more confused than she had been before. It seemed, from the encounter, that Lisa was upset and it was all her fault. It could only have been the phone call; that was when things started feeling off.

Was it her comment about being committed to the band? As a member of Roselia, Yukina thought that Lisa understood the responsibilities required.

Thoughts occupying her mind, Yukina left school grounds. She walked towards the studio slowly, not even sure if she still wanted to go there. When she was about a block away from the studio, she found some steps to sit on and think. She held her hands together in her lap, looking down at them.

She hurt Lisa, on accident sure, but she still did it. Lisa was upset enough to avoid Yukina and to talk to Moca about it, so it must've been pretty bad. Yukina needed to apologize, but Lisa was ignoring her and the damage had already been done. This wasn't the first time, Yukina knew. Sometimes terrible things just, slipped out. So many times she'd made these same mistakes; Moca was right she really was the worst. A single tear forced its way down her face.

"Yukina-senpai?" A voice called her name, and Yukina looked up. A few members of Hello Happy World, that peppy band, had stopped to speak with her. Okusawa Misaki was the one who spoke. "Are you okay?" She had two of her band members with her; Tsuramaki Kokoro and Seta Kaoru.

"I'm fine." Yukina wiped the single tear away.

Kokoro bounced forward, right into her personal bubble. "You don't look fine, you're not smiling!"

"I don't usually smile." Yukina insisted with a frown.

"Sorry to bother you." Misaki seemed to realize that they weren't wanted here. "Let's keep going, Kokoro."

"Not until Yukina smiles!" Kokoro insisted, taking a seat next to Yukina. She looked to be bouncing up and down on the cement steps. "So, what's got you down?"

Yukina didn't really want to talk about it, especially not with underclassmen from a different school. But she did need some advice, and at least one of these people seemed to have a good head on their shoulders.

She took a deep breath. "I messed up pretty badly, with one of my friends. I said something awful to her." Yukina left the names out of it. "She's avoiding me now, and I deserve it." Kokoro leaned closer as Yukina spoke. "I keep screwing up our friendship, again and again."

"How do you lose a woman?" Kaoru chimed in when Yukina finished talking, bringing one hand up for a dramatic pose.

Misaki grimaced. "I'm not sure now's the time for quotes." She muttered.

"You forget to cherish her." Kaoru finished with a sweep of the hand.

"That's not even Shakespeare." Misaki muttered even quieter than before; Yukina could barely hear her.

"I think." Kokoro's voice was incredibly loud from so close. "You need to make her smile! Then all will be forgiven!" She jumped up from the bench, raising one fist in the air.

Cherish her and make her smile, huh. Yukina considered the two ideas. They sounded viable, though she wasn't sure exactly how to do those things. "How do I do that?" Yukina asked sincerely.

"You can't fix everything with a smile." Misaki cut in, dampening Kokoro's enthusiasm. "But I think what Kokoro is trying to say is that you should take her feelings into account." Misaki paused for a moment, looking around a bit. "As for my two cents, I don't exactly know your whole situation but," She cleared her throat. "Sometimes you need to take a step back and think more objectively. About your feelings, and, more importantly, hers."

"Hear hear!" Kokoro put one arm around Misaki's shoulders, pulling the other girl off balance.

"Hey!" Misaki protested, but didn't throw Kokoro off. "Anyway, Kokoro we really do have to go now; we'll miss our timeslot if we don't."

"Onward!" Kokoro started walking, dragging Misaki down the sidewalk. "Good luck Yukina!" She called back over her shoulder, giving a wave. Kaoru trailed behind the pair, giving a much more dramatic farewell motion.

They vanished into the distance, and Yukina was alone once again with her thoughts. They gave surprisingly good advice, and her head felt clearer.

There were only two paths ahead. One where Yukina stayed the same and lost Lisa forever, or one where she changed and mended their relationship.

She knew what she had to do. Yukina needed to listen better, to think more objectively, and to cherish Lisa like she deserved. She couldn't afford to lash out or jump to conclusions any longer.

She needed to change, and it was going to start right now.

Yukina dialed Lisa's number. It went to voicemail again.

"Lisa, I know you probably don't want to see me, and I fully understand that, but please let me make it up to you. I have something to say, but I also want to hear what you have to say. Please meet me at the park at 8:00 tonight."

Yukina hung up and dared to hope.

* * *

Lisa listened to the message over and over again that afternoon. Something felt different, even compared to the message Yukina left after school.

Even after the talk with Sayo, and the decision Lisa made, it was still Yukina. Lisa at least had to hear her out. This could be the end, and Lisa was prepared to accept that.

She decided to go.

At 7:55 Lisa set off for the park near her house; it was the only one Yukina could've been talking about. They'd played there ever since they were kids. It was only a five minute walk, but it felt much longer. The path Lisa walked seemed to stretch on forever, but of course all things end.

Yukina was already there, sitting on one of the swings. Her gold eyes watched Lisa approach, almost glowing under the fading light of sunset. She still wore her school uniform, suggesting that she had not been home since that morning.

"You came." Yukina said simply as Lisa sat down on the swing next to her. "Thank you."

Lisa had to remind herself that she was done cutting Yukina extra slack. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked, looking straight ahead instead of at Yukina. Lisa dug her shoes into the woodchips, making small ditches in ground.

"I want to apologize." Yukina's voice sounded more strained than usual. "What I said yesterday was wrong, and I am sorry."

Lisa's heart panged painfully in her chest. Another apology, just continuing the loop. From the voicemail, she thought things might be different. Lisa was done. "Is that all?" She stood from the swing, despite having only sat there for a minute. "I'll be going then, Yukina." She stepped away, but was stopped by a small hand grabbing her wrist.

"Please, I'm not finished." Yukina's fingers felt warm against her skin, holding on loosely enough that Lisa could still pull away, but she didn't. Lisa turned back towards Yukina, finally looking at her as she spoke. The fingers on her wrist fell away. "We've done this before, I mess up and ask for your forgiveness." The look in Yukina's eyes sent a trill down Lisa's spine. "But I don't want to do that anymore. This is the last time." Yukina stood from the swing, stepping towards Lisa. "You are a wonderful person." Yukina gently reached for one of Lisa's hands, holding it gently. Lisa's heart thudded loudly in her chest, and she wondered if Yukina could hear it. "And you deserve better."

"Yukina…" Lisa could only say the other girls name as a flush rose to her cheeks.

"I vow to be that person. To be worthy of your forgiveness. To be better and…" Yukina's face echoed the red appearing on Lisa's. "Cherish you the way you deserve. So please," Yukina broke eye contact to guide Lisa back to the swing, gesturing for her to sit down. "Tell me about your practice with Pastel Palettes."

Lisa did not sit down. Instead, she felt the return of the tears she'd fought with all day, only for a different reason this time. "Yukina!" Her heart soared as she threw her arms around Yukina, almost sending both of them tumbling to the ground. "I'm so happy." She held the other girl closely, feeling her pulse race as well. This was what she'd been waiting for, what she'd hoped Yukina would say. It marked the start of something new.

"It was only one day, but I missed you." Yukina muttered quietly in her ear. "And I really do want to hear about that band practice."

Lisa let out a teary laugh. "It wasn't really a band practice." She loosened her grip on the hug, pulling back so she could see Yukina's face. Yukina wasn't crying, but her eyes did have a distinct redness to them. "Hina asked me to teach her to play more expressively, so I was helping her out."

"I see." Yukina released the hug, and Lisa missed her warmth immediately. Yukina took her seat back on the swing, lacing her fingers with Lisa's and leading her to do the same. "Nobody plays more expressively than you, so I understand why she asked."

The flush, which had been receding, returned to Lisa's face. "Eh Yukina that's so nice of you to say!"

"It's the truth." Yukina insisted.

The sun continued to set, eventually fading into night. The two girls stayed and talked long past the fading of day.

As Lisa felt Yukina's thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand, she felt truly content.

* * *

Yukina's phone rang. It was Lisa. She picked up immediately, a small smile on her face.

She always had time to hear what Lisa had to say.


End file.
